The Coming World of 3D Printing

MU mechanical engineering student Alex Madinger spoke about the exciting possibilities of 3D printing at TEDxCoMo in Columbia in April.

Madinger, who helped found Mizzou’s 3D Printing Club, says this new frontier will change the way we think about and interact with everyday objects.

As a freshman studying mechanical engineering, Alex Madinger thought he would need to be a senior or graduate student before he could have the chance to work with 3D printers, machines capable of manufacturing three-dimensional objects from digital models, in the University of Missouri College of Engineering’s then-new rapid prototyping lab.

“My roommate mentioned it to me,” Madinger, now a senior, said. “I didn’t know underclassmen could use it. In my junior year, I walked in the lab and introduced myself to Mike Klote.”

Klote is the director of Engineering Technical Services and also serves as manager of the prototype lab.